


Leaving Fire in Her Wake

by the_rck



Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), Gen, Loyalty, Obsession, Protectiveness, Silver Queen's Dreaming of Sunshine Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25276552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_rck/pseuds/the_rck
Summary: So far, none of the assassins had come from Root. Sai was unreasonably grateful for that fact. Nothing would break his loyalty to Shikako, but she would be very unhappy if Danzo killed him.She'd probably be even more unhappy if Sai emulated Uchiha Itachi. He still would because alive and unhappy was much better than dead.And dead would be better than anything Danzo might do to her if he actually ever saw what she was.
Comments: 22
Kudos: 384
Collections: Battleship 2020 - Yellow Team, Heliocentrism — a Dreaming of Sunshine recursive collection





	Leaving Fire in Her Wake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mysticaltorque](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysticaltorque/gifts).



> Title derived from Julie Byrne's poem, "The Sea as it Glides." I changed the pronoun which is 'my' in the original.

Sai wanted to understand Nara Shikako. At first, he thought his failure on that front was just another manifestation of his usual social awkwardness. Now, he had more experience with Shikako's peers.

Not one of them understood Shikako, either. They thought they did, but they were standing too close to her. Their emotions and assumptions must provide her with cover, a lot of cover.

Sai had had assumptions; Shikako had torched them and then poured water over the ashes to wash him clean. She'd set the fires so gently that he hadn't noticed flames until after the heat had passed.

Sai didn't think Shikako understood the gift she'd given him. If she'd known, she'd have used it as a lever. Sai wasn't her brother or her teammate. He didn't have any claim on her loyalty, and she had aimed herself toward--

Sai had no idea what her target was. He didn't think it mattered. He could see the edges of her dream. He didn't expect to live to see it realized, so he was glad that he'd glimpsed her sun rising.

He didn't understand her; he didn't have to.

Danzo had always said that Root served only Konoha. Sai served only Shikako, so he supposed she must be his Konoha. 

Sai would be her shadow. Sai would act when she couldn't. Sai would find the threats to her and dispatch them before they troubled her.

Tonight's would-be assassin was the fourth. Sai took a moment to wipe the blood from his tanto before he sheathed it. Then he knelt by the corpse to see if anything identified the hand behind the agent. 

So far, none of the assassins had come from Root. Sai was unreasonably grateful for that fact. Nothing would break his loyalty to Shikako, but she would be very unhappy if Danzo killed him.

She'd probably be even more unhappy if Sai emulated Uchiha Itachi. He still would because alive and unhappy was much better than dead.

And dead would be better than anything Danzo might do to her if he actually ever saw what she was.

A twig snapped somewhere on Sai's left. He abandoned the corpse and sprang into the tree above him. He waited before going further because he needed to know who had made the sound. 

He might have to dispose of two corpses tonight.

There was enough light from the moon for Sai to be certain that he was right in identifying the interloper as Kakashi-taicho. The man somehow managed to slouch while also giving the impression that he could be instantly lethal.

Sai considered Kakashi-taicho.

Kakashi-taicho definitely knew that someone was hiding in the tree.

Sai swung himself down. He faced Shikako's beloved sensei across the corpse.

"Maa, Sai-kun," the jounin said. "It would help if we'd been able to question him."

Sai shrugged. He had answers for that but none that he could get past the seal.

"How did you know?" Kakashi-taicho asked.

"I have met Aburame," Sai replied.

Kakashi-taicho's single visible eye blinked slowly. "I suppose all sorts of things crawl out when you start digging up stumps."

Sai smiled. He knew the expression conveyed nothing at all.

"How many?" Kakashi-taicho asked.

Sai knew he wasn't asking about Aburame. Sai considered lying, but he thought that he and Kakashi-taicho might have common priorities. "Four," he said, "in the last two weeks." He didn't let his smile slip. "You?"

"I had a mission." Kakashi-taicho looked away. "Two."

Sai felt chilled at the idea that he'd missed even one.

Shikako could protect herself, and she wouldn't hesitate. She'd have been fine. She'd only have dimmed a little.

"Outside your perimeter," Kakashi-taicho told him. "I'm sure you'd have gotten them if I'd let them go."

That was much better.

"I don't want Shikako troubled." Sai wanted Kakashi-taicho to understand that Sai trusted Shikako's abilities. "She's doing important things." Sai felt Kakashi-taicho's focus shift.

"Do you know what she's working on?" The question sounded casual.

Sai felt a little insulted that Kakashi-taicho thought a chunin of Root would miss-- or misread-- the shift in attitude. He shrugged again. "Better I don't."

Kakashi-taicho didn't respond for several seconds. Then he relaxed a bit. "I'll give you scrolls for the corpses. The Hokage will make it a mission, so your ass will be covered."

Sai was almost certain that Kakashi-taicho knew how little protection the Hokage's order would provide, but Sai appreciated the gesture. He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "A well maintained weapon can continue to serve."

Kakashi-taicho twitched.

Before Shikako, Sai wouldn't have thought to elaborate. "I am what I am," he said. "She'd rather I wasn't, but she needs someone to be what I am."

"And you wouldn't trust anyone else to do it."

Sai shook his head. "I don't have to." He hoped that Kakashi-taicho heard the 'and you can't make me' appended to that.

"You love her."

Sai heard no judgment in Kakashi-taicho's words. Sai didn't respond for several seconds. He thought 'love' was wrong, too small and too imprecise. He wasn't sure their language had a term that fit. "I'm loyal," he said at last.

Kakashi-taicho's visible eyebrow lifted, but he didn't ask for clarification. "I'll take care of this one," he said instead. "You go crawl back under your rock and watch for the next one."

Sai stepped back, preparing to fade.

"She needs more than this, Sai-kun. She worries about you."

Sai had no idea what he was supposed to do with that.

"Lunch," Kakashi-taicho said. "Tomorrow."

Sai knew Kakashi-taicho well enough to recognize the man's smile.

"I'll leave finding us as a training exercise for you."

Sai had no response, so he leapt into the trees again and returned to guarding Shikako.


End file.
